WNY Wedding Spotlight: Neal Urban Photography

The best way to make sure your wedding memories last a lifetime is to select a great photographer who will capture your day in the exact way it was meant to be captured. This is no easy task. Not all photography is the same – different styles and different perspectives can make all the difference when it comes to capturing your big day. This is why it’s important to select a great photographer who can capture your unique style and personality to create lifelong mementos. In this latest installment of our ongoing blog series highlighting WNY’s best wedding professionals, we sit down and talk with Neal Urban of Neal Urban Photography. As one of the area’s premier wedding photographers, he has a lot of great insight to share about the importance of wedding photography.

What is your favorite moment or element to capture at a wedding?

The moment after the bride puts her wedding dress on and sees her father for the first time. It’s the one moment that the father and daughter have been waiting their whole lives for. My eyes tear up behind the camera every time.

Are there trends in wedding photography? If so, what are some you’ve seen in the last few years?

When I started photography about five years ago the trend was selective color (photo in black and white, and an object or person in color) – thankfully that trend ended quickly. Anything and everything on Pinterest is trending and that changes on a daily basis. But one trend that will never change is that people want high quality images that are “original” and magazine-worthy.

When you work with a couple, do you find that the photography style is customized to their unique occasion, or is there more of a one-size-fits-all strategy?

Clients book us based on our personality, portfolio, and unique style. If we steer away from our style then they might be disappointed and that’s the last thing we want to happen!

What’s the most creative location you’ve ever done a photo shoot?

We’ve traveled to Nelson, Nevada for an engagement shoot. Nelson is an abandoned ghost town. We needed to sign a waiver before shooting there. It was like stepping into a time machine and travelling back to the early 1900s. The town had abandoned buildings, a gas station, convenience store, cars, trucks, school busses and a fire truck from that time period. The town even had a military plane that had crashed nearby. It was a photographers’ playground for sure!

If you have one tip for brides-to-be selecting a photographer, what would it be?

When you find the right photographer, book him or her! The best book up first and often – we book 12-24 months in advance. You’ll know it when you find the right one and when that happens, don’t wait! Photographers spend more time with the bride on her wedding day than the husband-to-be, so it’s a very personal decision and probably one of the most important. All of your details and memories will fade over the years, but the photography will last forever!

BONUS Question: How do you like to spend your time when you’re not working behind a camera?

I was going to say that my wife and I love to travel but I’m still behind the camera taking pictures! We also love wine. We have family in San Francisco so we visit Napa Valley 1-2 times per year. My wife and I chose to get married in wine country! We had a small and intimate wedding of 20 guests on top of a mountain overlooking the entire valley. It was beautiful!

It’s clear that Neal has a great eye for what is beautiful in this world, and there’s no better skill you can find in a photographer charged with the task of capturing all the beautiful moments of your wedding day. To learn more about Neal Urban Photography, make sure to check out his website and the photos below – it’s great work!